death incarnate & night triumphant
If the man wasn't paying attention to her, his mind would be reeling. The faerie woman could launch from one tale to the next in the space of a moment, he almost had a hard time keeping up. The excursions of her friend, Mr. Crow, seemed to excite her so very briefly before a blush covers her face and realizes she absolutely did not want to share that story. A puzzled look crosses Andras's face before he releases a breathy laugh. What a peculiar little creature! He's ready to insist she move on with her tale, Andras's own curiosity growing. What had that angry little bird seen? He wouldn't be surprised if the crow was a peeping tom! An interesting and rather hilarious thought, what the bird was feeding Illiana was a mystery, one he probably could due without knowing. Illy then throws out a random fact, his brows furrowing in confusion as he continues to play along with her. He was certain he might have a headache after this conversation and an immortal headache was not something that was easily cured with the use of over the counter medication. He resists the urge to reach up and rub his temples, instead, he stands across from the flighty woman, carefully relaxed and his face easing into a more welcoming mask.
Andras finally finds an opening to offer her Somnia, a home. There were so few faerie's that had a safe home in this world; between being hunted by Dark Hunters and vampires, their race dwindled in numbers every year. It wasn't easy to create faeries nor was it easy to give birth to them either, their race possibly one of the more difficult cultures to continue on within the world. Her timid question draws him out of such thoughts, Andras's eyes softening as he nods his head once, "Extremely, my home hasn't been infiltrated in over a thousand years," he admits, perhaps a tinge of pride coating his words in that moment. He next comment has his features drawn into a frown, a murderous glare flashing through his eyes as he quickly covers it, his hands tightening into fists for the briefest of moments before he relaxes once more. Andras can't help but allow his dark hazel eyes to scan the faerie, noting her own slender ears and the way she leaned away from him. It was as if she were frightened he would launch himself across the way and slice her ears off. What could the girl have possibly seen that made her like this?
Sighing, "I can assure you, no bad man can get into my city. I like to protect our kind from men like that," and hunt them down to rip them apart, a thought he added within his head. If he ever could get Illiana to divulge such a traumatizing experience... he would most certainly rip those men from limb from limb. Andras wasn't particularly a blood thirsty faerie and yet, he would become the monster those rumors portrayed him as to keep his court safe. He would give his life if it meant protecting Somnia and perhaps one day he would. Andras pushes those thoughts away once more, hardly wanting to dawdle on such things as he explains about his massive vault. Apparently, that was all it did to get the girl to open up, the slender faerie dancing gracefully closer as she seems to forget herself. He offers her a gentle smile, keeping his position lax, his movements slow as if she would run away at any sudden movements. Truly... she probably would. Her questioning brings a genuine chuckle to his lips, his dark hazel eyes brightening at her inquiries, "The size of a house, maybe bigger. I've never measured it," he says, his words thick with humor, "You're more than welcome to catalog everything in it if you'd like," he offers her.
Again, he offers her a safe place and she seems nearly taken aback by such an offer. Andras simply nods at her, the girl hardly needing anymore encouragement before excitement takes over her. He's almost certain she might begin bouncing as her swell of excitement raises her voice, a simper coating his lips. That's when she begins to look around curiously, asking where it was. "Ah, this is where it gets a little tricky," he explains with a gesture of his hand, a roaring portal appearing next to them several feet away. Sweat coats his brow with the exertion, how he so rarely used his gifts to create new portals and yet, Andras was positively freezing, he didn't want to trek all the way back to the townhouse. "It's okay," he soothes the woman gently, in hopes she wouldn't run away by the appearance of a black hole. "My home is in another world, that's why it's so safe. Only those I approve can come," he nods towards it, "It looks a bit frightening but after you step through it, it feels a little bit like flying for a few moments," he explains, hoping the thought of flight might entice her a bit more.
He's distracted by the way she inches closer to him, ignoring the silent portal for a moment, as she offers him back that family heirloom, surprise filtering across his face. "Thank you," he bows his head as he shoves the green emerald into his pocket before Illy simply demands that Mr. Crow be allowed to come. He didn't particularly enjoy animals, nor did they like him much. He was too much of a... predator for them to feel comfortable in his presence. Sighing, he simply nods at the faerie as he glances back at the portal. He had a feeling he would be walking back to the townhouse cold, he couldn't possibly keep this portal open for very long, it wasn't as stable as the ones attached to inanimate objects. "Would you like us to go find him now and then we can be on our way? Or would you like to come back for him?"
Andras Steinhello darling